The Third Degree
by HopeAndFaithAndCharity
Summary: Natalie has been transported to the world of Harry Potter. Is it as dream-like as she thought?


I was walking with my friend Faith when it happened. We had just watched our team, the Jaguars, squash another team in soccer at Mundell Park. We were walking home, since we had planned to have our first sleepover together at her house. Our friends Marie and Rayanne were going to meet us at the end of First Street and Home. It is rather small compared to some cities where we lived in Indiana, with a population of just over 20,000, but it was large compared to where my dad grew up in North Carolina. with just over 1,500.

We met Rayanne and Marie and then walked over to Faith's. I am the odd one out in our group. The others all have blonde hair, whereas mine is a dark brown, almost black. Actually, I've gotten into arguments with boys who insisted my hair was black for the longest time. I am shorter than everybody else, especially Marie, who was taller than us all. Marie forgot something, so we hurried over to her place. She lived about five blocks away on Water Street. As we were heading back, I noticed a wierd shape on the sidewalk. It looked like a lightning bolt. I was immediately reminded of Harry Potter. Some might say I am a bit fanatical. I say I'm obsessed. So I knelt down to examine it. As soon as I touched it, I felt myself falling through space. The last thing I heard was "Nat! Natalie!"

When I landed, I was in a zoo. Oh,no. This is not happening. Not happening. No. Way. Am. I. Here. I spot him near the snake. Harry Potter. I walk over to him. "Hi," I say.

"Oh, hi. I'm Harry." he says. I hear hisses. _Parseltongue! _I watch as Dudley(wow, was he really that fat?) ran and pushed Harry out of the way. I was behind him and I caught him. He was pretty light. I helped him up, and we both laughed as Dudley fell through the glass into the snake enclosure. I saw Vernon give Harry the evil eye, and I knew he was not coming out of that stupid cupboard for a very long time.

I followed them home, finally giving up and catching a cab to Surrey. Not that I knew whwre that was necessarily. But I tried to look like I knew where we were heading for the drivers sake.

I asked the driver to let me off at number three Privet Drive, which was across the street from Harry's and the Dursleys place.

Once the cab driver was out of sight, I crossed the street to number four. Gathering my courage, I knocked on the door.

"If it's a girl scout, no!" I heard Petunia call from inside the house. That must have meant that Dudley was going to answer the door. Sure enough, when the door opened, 200 pounds of boy was in the way. Dudley Dursley.

"What do you want?" he demanded, chewing something. He didn't have his mouth closed… it was very disgusting, to say the least.

"I was wondering if Harry was home?" I asked politely. Not that Dudley would've known polite if it had hit him in the arse and said, I'm polite!

"What do you want with him?" Dudley wonders. Of course. He doesn't think anyone cares about poor Harry Potter.

"I was wondering if he'd like to take a walk with me," I reply. I heard from my neighbors that he didn't have any friends, and I was hoping to be his friend."

"You'd better talk to Dad," he says. He turns away, letting the screen door slam in my face. How rude. But I follow him into the living room, where Petunia is sitting on the couch watching television.

"Mum, this girl wants to talk to Harry," Dudley says. She looks behind her and notices me.

"Harry? Why would you wand to talk to him?" she demands.

"Dudley," I say sweetly. "Would you leave your mother and I to talk for a minute?"

"Go on Dudley," Petunia says. "Watch your telly or something."

Dudley walks out of the living room.

"What is it?" Petunia demands once he's gone. "What do you need to say that my son had to leave?"

"I know that Harry's a wizard," I say. "And I know that you know. So please let me talk to him, or I will find a way to do so. If you do it willingly, I will not tell him the truth yet. He's going to find out soon whether or not you tell him."

"H-how do you know that?" she asks nervously.

"I have my ways," I say. "And one more thing. If you treat Harry as bad as I know he has been since he came to live with you from now on, you will have to answer to me."

"He's in the cupboard," Petunia says.

"Thank you," I say. I walk to the hallway. At the end, I spot Harry's cupboard. I knock on it.

"What do you want, Aunt Petunia?" Harry asks.

"I'm not Petunia," I say, unlocking the cupboard and opening the door.

"Hey, you're the girl from the zoo!" he exclaims, recognizing me. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked Petunia if we could take a walk," I inform him, grinning. "I'm moving in down the road and I'm trying to make some friends."

Harry slips on his tennis shoes and we walk outside and head for Wisteria Walk.

"Why would you want to be my friend?" he asks finally.

"Why not?" I counter. "I mean, you don't have any other friends, do you? And I haven't got any friends here, so I supposed that since we're both outcasts, we could be outcasts together."

"That makes absolutely no sense," he says. "Hey, I don't even know your name!"

"Sorry," I excuse myself. "I've had a crazy day, what with moving and all. My name's Natalie James."

"Nice to meet you, Natalie," Harry says. "I'm Harry Potter."


End file.
